Beryl is a mineral and in certain varieties a valuable gem material. Beryl is often unknown to the general public, even the gemstone-buying public. It is a mineral made up of beryllium aluminum cyclosilicate. Beryl is a common crystal and forms as a six-sided prism. . The main gem varieties of beryl are emerald (green) and aquamarine (blue). Beryl is the chief ore of Beryllium, which is used in transistors. Pure beryl is colorless, but it is frequently tinted by impurities; possible colors are green, blue, yellow, red, and white. Blue Beryl is called Aquamarine and is colored by iron, green Beryl is called an emerald is colored by chromium. Golden beryl is a yellow-green and called Heliodor, Pink Beryl is called Morganite The green beryl, emerald, tends to be infested with inclusions. Red beryl is the most precious kind of beryl. Red beryl is extremely rare (more so than emeralds, by some reports). Blue beryl is quite interesting in that its color fades with exposure to sunlight. Beryl is the March birthstone, with a hardness of between 7. Beryl is most frequently found in granite pegmatites. Chemically beryl is Be3 Al2 Si6 O18. Minerals in the beryl group are silicates of beryllium and aluminum, having the chemical formula Be3Al2(SiO3)6 Beryl is found as barrel-formed crystals. The rarest beryl is bixbite (red) and is not usually seen in jewelry as it occurs in only very small crystals. Beryl is a silicate of aluminum and beryllium crystallizing in the hexagonal system. Gem quality Golden Beryl is mined in Brazil, Virginia, and Madagascar. Emerald is the green variety of the mineral beryl. Pliny, the Roman scholar, was the first to suggest emerald was a family member of beryl. Of all of the beryls the emerald is the 2nd rarest, the only beryl that is both more valuable and more rare than an emerald is the red beryl (bixbite). Emerald is colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes iron. Emerald (and all forms of beryl) has large, perfect, six-sided crystals. Both hydrothermal and flux-growth synthetics have been produced and a method has been developed for producing an emerald overgrowth on colorless beryl. Colombian emeralds are universally accepted as the finest emeralds in the world. It is Colombian emeralds against which all others are judged. However, many Colombian Emeralds are mined in lowest grade possible, especially, the Very light in color (sometimes called green beryl). Native peoples worked the Colombian emerald mines long before they were taken over by the Spanish in 1537. During the 16th century, vast quantities of Colombian emeralds entered the European market. Colombian emerald industry has, on average, 60% of the global market. Aquamarine, named for the Latin phrase “water of the sea”, is a blue to blue-green variety of the mineral beryl. Legends say that aquamarine (beryl) is the treasure of mermaids, with the power to keep sailors safe at sea. Aquamarine is one of several common gemstones belonging to the beryl mineral group. Aquamarine is a member of the important beryl family, which includes emerald, but aquamarine is less brittle and more durable than emerald. The color of Aquamarine is due to trace amounts of iron impurities in the beryl structure. Aquamarine is found in Brazil, Zambia, Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria, and other countries. Heliodor is a golden to greenish-yellow variety of beryl. Heliodor is named after the Greek words for sun “Helios” and gift “doron”. Heliodor was discovered in Namibia in 1910 in a pegmatite that also produced aquamarine, which is also colored by iron. Heliodor or yellow beryl is far more common than its brothers Aquamarine or emerald is are. Morganite is a member of the beryl family that is named after one of the world’s wealthiest bankers and gemstone enthusiasts, J. Morganite is the pink, peach or lilac variety of the mineral beryl. The colors range from pale to pretty good, but all Morganite is pale. The pink color of Morganite is due to trace amounts of manganese impurities in the beryl structure. Perhaps the highlight of the Bennett’s gem history was the discovery of the ‘Rose of Maine’, an enormous Morganite beryl, by Dennis and Ron Holden. Bixbite (also known as red beryl, red emerald, or scarlet emerald) is a red variety of beryl (emerald), Be3(Al,Mn)2Si6O18. Bixbite is named for Maynard Bixby who catalogued the minerals of Utah; however, this is not a scientifically recognized type of beryl. The “red emerald,” also known as the bixbite or red beryl, is one of the hardest stones to find on earth, and also one of the most difficult to cut. Bixbite, a form of beryl, occurs in silica-rich volcanic rocks known as topaz bearing rhyolites. Goshenite is the transparent, colorless, alkali-bearing pure beryl that was discovered in Goshen, Hampshire County, and Massachusetts. Goshenite is often used as a replacement for more valuable colorless gems. Goshenite is usually found alongside the colored beryls although it is not nearly as popular.